The Problems with Westphalian Nation-State System

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We all associate ourselves with various identities such as Indians, Chinese, Pakistani, Americans, Canadians, French, British and much more. Why do you think we all associate with all these more? Are there any other identities which people associate with?  The identities which I mentioned before are relatively new compared to other identities such as religion, language, caste, and various other identities. It is not to say that people never had such feelings towards nations or the state. But the idea of loyalty and love for the motherland was very important which offset various other identities. The question we are arriving at is what is the motherland, who made and how it formed.  What we refer to today as a Nation or Country refers to what we know in political science as a Nation-State. Today almost all the countries we know are categorised Nation-States and some even as State-Nations. International Relations and Political Science suggest that states are the most important a...
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News capsule for the Fortnight- December (1st-15th)

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 Following are the top news for the fortnight (1-15).  If you wish to follow and get notifications of future articles, you can signup using the email on the left sidebar. 



Kerala 

  • A differently-abled senior clerk at the Kakanad civil station of Kochi wins best govt. employee award.
  • Muslim League calls protests for the government's decision to allow PSC appointments in mosques. Samasta rejected the same. 
  • Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was reinstated as CPM Kerala state secretary. 
  • Thrissur, Nilambur to be listed as UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities.
  • Ward-level committees to oversee foreign returnees against Omicron. 
  • CM's residence Cliff House security raised. 
  • Mullaperiyar Dam shutter was opened by Tamil Nadu without warning. 
  • Kerala ward-level bypolls: LDF 17, UDF 13, BJP 1 in bye- election results Kerala.
  • Rail board allows K-Rail to acquire land despite objection from Southern railway.
  • Bird flu was confirmed in Kerala's Kuttanad region, culling of birds was ordered in affected parts.
  • Governor calls out against VC appointments in Kannur University. 
  • Ali Akbar Malayalam director quits Islam to be Hindu. 
  • Assailants hackman in broad daylight in Trivandrum. 
  • Kerala govt to reopen the traditional route to Sabarimala allows several relaxations. 
  • Balussery Govt HSS introduces gender-neutral uniforms. 
  • CM seeks explanation from rural SP over the arrest of youth congress workers in Aluva.
  • State reports five omicron cases in total. 
India


  • 3 Municipal corporations in Gujarat- Vadodara, Rajkot, Junagadh decide to ban non-veg street food.
  • Omicron cases were reported for the first time in Karnataka.
  • Cyclone Jawad hits India's east coast. 
  • Rajya Sabha passes Dam Safety Bill.
  • Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away.
  • Pakistan to allow Afghan trucks to carry wheat, medicines from India through its borders.
  • Suspended Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi steps down as Sansad TV show host.
  • Domestic passengers must have RTPCR or be fully vaccinated, AAI issues fresh guidelines.
  • 12 Rajya Sabha MPs suspended for misconduct.
  • Wasim Rizvi, ex-chairman of Shia Waqf Board in UP, converts to Hinduism.
  • Stones pelted on School in MP alleging missionary conversions. 
  • India signs a trade and arms deal with Russia during Putin's visit to New Delhi.
  • "Castelessness Only An Upper Caste Privilege": Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.
  • 21-year-old college student crushed under BMTC bus in Bangalore. 
  • Babri Masjid Demolition anniversary on 6th December. 
  • PM Modi inaugurated AIIMS in Gorakhpur.
  • CDS General Bipin Rawat's chopper crashes in Tamil Nadu. 13 out of 14 passengers on chopper died. 
  • Lok Sabha passes pension bills for judges.
  • Price rise, unemployment due to govt's failure: Rahul Gandhi.
  • Bajrang Dal to hold ‘strength marches’ at 1,000 places to educate youth on Ram Mandir history.
  • PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Saryu Nahar National Project in Balrampur.
  • 4 journalists ‘murdered’ in India for their work in 2021, most in the world, says media watchdog.
  • India suspends international flights till Jan 31. 
  • Kashi Vishwanath Dham Inauguration was done by PM Modi. 
  • Modi makes a surprise visit to Varanasi Railway station. 
  • Govt earned over Rs 8 lakh cr from taxes on petrol, diesel in last 3 fiscals: Finance Minister. 
  • Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe 2021. 
  • A two-day nationwide bank strike was declared on Dec 16, 17. 
  • Rajya Sabha moves privilege motion against Ranjan Gogoi.  
  • WTO panel tells India to comply with global trade rules on sugar.
World/International

  • Ukraine is put on alert as Russia deploys troops on its border. 
  • Michigan school shooting: Parents of gunman charged with manslaughter.
  • Bobe Dole, ex-US Presidential nominee passed away. 
  • Australian military joins implementing COVID-19 restrictions. 
  • Aung San Suu Kyi Gets 4 Years in Prison in Initial Verdicts by Myanmar Court.
  • Students turn GCU Lahore campus into Harry Potter's Hogwarts for a week-long festival.
  • Kuwait bans entry of ships carrying goods to and from Israel
  • UAE moves to 4.5 days of work per week. 
  • Jamal Khashoggi: Suspect in murder of journalist arrested in Paris.
  • Germany's SPD's Olaf Scholz takes over from Merkel as chancellor. 
  • David Perdue joins Georgia governors race followed by Stacy Abrams. 
  • Joe Biden holds Summit for Democracy. Pakistan declines the invitation. 
  • Powerful storm rolls across the central US, unleashing at least 19 tornadoes. Over 100 people are dead. Massive destruction in six states. 
  • Saudi Arabia bans Tablighi Jamaat. 
  • China claims its the world's largest democracy. 
  • G7 meeting held as a warning to Russia against Ukraine. 
  • Starbuck workers form Union in Buffalo. 
  • ‘US democracy weapon of mass destruction'- China lambasts global summit.
  • United Kingdom records first death due to Omicron variant of COVID-19.
  • New Zealand bans smoking for young people from now on. 
  • Elon Musk is named the Time Person of the year 2021. 
  • TTP ends the ceasefire with Pakistan. 
  • North and South Korea agreed to end their war. 
  • Chris Wallace leaves Fox news and joins the CNN+ streaming service. 
  • US and UAE uncertain over F35 deal. 
  • US passes 800,000 Covid deaths – highest in the world.
  • UK Sees Highest Ever Daily Covid Cases. 
  • Derek Chauvin pleads guilty in federal court to violating George Floyd's civil rights. 
  • Michigan school shooting: Parents of gunman charged with manslaughter.
Technology 


  • Case filed against Mark Zuckerberg over ‘defamatory’ post against Akhilesh Yadav. 
  • Devotees at Sabarimala can now offer 'e-kannikka'
  • Biodiesel from algae: Kerala invites Jharkhand engineer for the same.
  • Meta to prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate images.
  • BJP MP Sushil Modi wants online gaming taxed & regulated.
  • "No Proposal For Banning NSO Group" as per the Indian Government.
  • A booster dose of 6 Covid vaccines is safe, increases immunity, shows a study in Lancet.
  • Mahindra Thar SUV was handed over to Guruvayoor Temple. 
  • Chinese Rover Spots Cube-Shaped "Mystery House" On Moon.
  • US diplomats to boycott Beijing Olympics, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK follow. 
  • Call for repeal of AFSPA in Nagaland trending on social media. 
  • Amazon AWS cloud outage observed. Services outage hits sites and apps.
  • India has the highest number of women pilots in the world. 
  • Nestle sets up a global IT services centre in Bengaluru, will support over 45 countries.
  • Paytm Payments Bank gets scheduled bank status from RBI.
  • US court rejects Donald Trump's bid to keep Jan 6 Capitol riot documents secret.
  • New US energy standards were unveiled to promote the use of LED. 
  • Karnataka Among Top Three States In Cybercrimes Against Children. 
  • PM Modi’s Twitter handle is ‘briefly compromised’. 
  • Smart Water Network on the way for Kochi.
  • Oppo releases its own chips for phones aimed at better camera performance. 
  • Jio releases 1 Rs data plan.
  • Netflix slashes prices for its services in India. Mobile plan at 149. The basic plan at 199. 
  • Minecraft game crosses 1 Trillion views on Youtube. 
  • Indian Cabinet approves ₹1,300 cr reimbursement scheme for RuPay Debit Card, BHIM UPI transactions.
Sports 



  • Rohith Sharma was appointed as the new Indian cricket captain. 
  • Viraat Kohli expresses dissatisfaction with National team. 

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